Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, at 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET on
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'Pi' surprises, Day-Lewis three-peats and the first lady drops in
A look back at the moments that had us laughing and cheering on Oscar
night
By Kim Morgan Special to MSN Movies
Oscars 2013. History! Tributes to James Bond, tributes to movie music, Shirley Bassey! And all within a year
of historical controversy. Historical accuracy has never been so hotly discussed
since Doris Kearns Goodwin co-hosted with
James Franco in 2010. OK, that didn't
happen, but it makes for a more entertaining story, right? Anyway, from the
storm surrounding Kathryn Bigelow's critically acclaimed and, to some, morally
maligned "Zero Dark Thirty" to the ultra-violence of Quentin Tarantino's spaghetti
Western-inspired slavery revenge epic "Django Unchained" to a gaffe concerning Connecticut
and the 13th Amendment in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" to the business of giving Canada a few more
props in "Argo" (ask Jimmy Carter), historical accuracy and
sensitivity were all the rage (sometimes literally).
But forget historical controversy! How about the future? Based on
controversial Oscar host Seth MacFarlane's opening, William Shatner was needed to,
essentially, co-host from ... the future. After an unfunny, tired attempt
at a shocking monologue (Mel Gibson jokes? A Chris
Brown/Rihanna joke? Ugh), things got weird. And not just because of Shatner.
MacFarlane began singing. And quite well. First, stupidly about boobs in movies,
but that was the point. Then he moved on to being classy, thanks to immortal
tunes like "The Way You Look Tonight" (added bonus: beautiful Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum dancing) and "High
Hopes" (with Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt). See, back to
history ... those old songs always sound great. But the telecast? Not so
great. MacFarlane was pretty flat through the rest of the proceedings. Not
hateable, but ... not exactly dynamic onstage. But others were. So on with
the highlights and the lowlights of tonight's 85th Academy Awards.
Best-dressed woman Old Hollywood alert! Jessica Chastain channeled Rita Hayworth in sparkly nude-colored
Armani. Her subtly sequined bombshell dress paired with red lipstick and
Veronica Lake-styled hair was an Oscar win. Even if she didn't, well, win.
Worst-dressed woman Oh, I always hate doing this because
I'm sitting here in my ugly pajamas and I feel like I have no right calling out
such beautiful people. But Anne Hathaway, where art thou
Valentino? Hathaway reportedly switched her mind last minute and donned that
pink Prada gown that looked a little baggy, with too many accentuated bustline
front darts. Reportedly, Rachel Zoe dressed her, so she was probably, like,
"literally" having a heart attack and not only screaming, "Bananas," but
throwing them at the TV. Still, Anne won, so she's not sweating it.
Warmest moment Riffing on Tommy Lee Jones' Golden Globes
glumness, Seth MacFarlane cracked about "the quest to make Tommy Lee Jones
laugh." And then Tommy Lee Jones smiled. And he laughed. And I saw a rainbow.
And a unicorn. And a bird flew in my window and sang to me. It was
beautiful.
We're with Shatner on this one "Why didn't they just get
Tina and Amy to host the show? Why didn't they get Tina and Amy to host
everything?" Yes. GOOD damn QUESTION, William Shatner.
Twitter check-in 1 @studioexec1 tweeted: "Amanda
Siegfried is here, but where the hell is Roy? #oscars"
Best red-carpet answer to E!'s Ryan Seacrest's never-ending "What are
you wearing?" query Nine-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis
said, "I liked it because it was sparkly and fluffy." I'm not making fun. That
really is the best, most honest answer to why a woman wears anything, really. I
wish, say, Tilda Swinton would state something like that. And also carry a puppy
purse with her. Actually, Tilda Swinton might just say and do
that one day. On a sidenote, what was with Seacrest's hair? He was looking a
little rockabilly or Teddy Boy or, come to think of it, a little Tilda. This is
not a bad thing.
Best hair/unprepared speech Claudio Miranda winning Best
Cinematography for "Life of Pi." Sometimes ill-prepared speeches are so
damn boring you just want that cane to pull the rambler off the stage. But I
enjoyed how Miranda didn't appear to have any kind of prepared speech and, as
such, seemed so real and raw and genuinely nervous: "Oh my God, I can't even
speak." I kind of adore this man. And his hair. I mean, look at that long,
flowing Edgar and Johnny Winter hair. You rock, dude.
What did you think of Seth MacFarlane as host? Sound off on
MSN Movies Facebook.
A good quip by Seth MacFarlane Regarding "Argo": "The
film was so top secret that film's director is unknown to the
Academy."
Best-dressed man Joseph Gordon-Levitt. His date was
"Lincoln" co-star and Oscar nominee Sally Field. On the red carpet he
discussed (with ABC) how he grew up watching the Oscars, how much he loves
movies and how excited he was to meet idols like Dustin Hoffman and Jane Fonda. And he looked fantastic.
Why is everyone so "Hey girl" about Ryan Gosling when we've got Joseph
Gordon-Levitt around? A genuine class act who wears a tux well.
Worst-dressed man You want me to point out the kilt,
right? But that kilt was awesome. I don't mean to be unfair to the women, but
all the men looked great tonight.
Twitter check-in 2 @GeorgeTakei The only thing that could
make the Oscars gayer, @SethMacFarlane, is if I hosted them. [We have Shatner
and George Takei involved!]
The golden girl of the night! Dame Shirley Bassey brought
the Dolby Theatre crowd to its feet with her rousing belt-out of her most famous
song, "Goldfinger," for the 50th anniversary tribute to the James Bond
franchise. The gorgeous 76-year-old, dressed in, of course, gold, gave us a
goose-bump-inducing moment. For those of us who love vintage James Bond, classic
Bond babes (Shirley Eaton!) and divas who are
genuine divas, all we can say is, "Viva, Shirley Bassey!"
And yet ... The 50th anniversary of James Bond was a
little thin. Can you imagine if all of the past and present Bonds had made an
appearance? Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and, of course, the
current Daniel Craig? Sure, past Bond girl Halle Berry said "Pussy Galore"
(meow!) and there was an OK montage, but it just didn't feel like enough.
Biggest disappointment Not that "Searching for Sugar Man" won Best Documentary; that
movie was fantastic (see it!). But the star of the picture was absent. There was
no Rodriguez. If you've seen the doc, you know the man is so humble and sweet,
so it wasn't surprising he was MIA for such a glitzy event. Even so, it would
have made the evening had Rodriguez added to his strange and remarkable life by
walking on that stage. As he said, he didn't want to " take any of the credit
himself." But, oh man, he deserves so much credit. Also, if the Oscars EVER adds
the category, I wish they'd add an Oscar for pre-existing music, or best
soundtrack. Rodriguez could have performed.
Wow, those "Les Misérables" kids clean up well OK, so
this isn't my favorite musical, and the film adaptation of "Les Misérables" has caused so much debate: It's
either a heart-wrenching work of genius, thanks to director Tom Hooper's ultra-realistic approach
(and lots of close-ups), or a bizarre mess that looks like the work of an
outsider artist -- and not on purpose. But I have to say, that wasn't as bad as
I thought it was going to be. And I was so relieved Anne Hathaway didn't die.
Oh, come on. That did not need a spoiler alert. Everyone knows Fantine dies.
Bring on the "Life of Pi" tiger... Because Mark Wahlberg and that talking teddy
bear, Ted, presenting Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing were not funny.
Now, that "Life of Pi" tiger, we hear he kills. No, really, tigers kill. Sorry,
I couldn't help myself.
Anne Hathaway wins Best Supporting Actress in 3, 2, 1 ...
I kept hearing reports that Anne hired speechwriters and THIS is
all she got? After rattling off names and, forgivably, not doing the
fake "Oh my goodness. I can't believe this just happened to me" routine, she
beseeched: "Please say I said everyone." No ... Anne, please don't say
everyone. She finished her speech with "Here's hoping that in the
not-too-distant future the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in
stories." That's a sweet thought, but then you wouldn't have won an Oscar had it
not been for the world's oldest and never-going-away profession. Aw, I'm being
mean to Anne. What would Victor Hugo say?
Excelsior! Jennifer Lawrence! Upon winning for Best
Actress for "Silver Linings Playbook," she sort of tripped up the
stairs to the stage (in that beautiful dress), but you know, it was so cute, so
who cares! And audience members were standing for her. And she kept her
acceptance speech short and sweet. Did I mention she's cute and spirited and
funny and beautiful and so very talented for such a young actress? But I don't
need to tell you that because, this just in: The ENTIRE WORLD is in LOVE with JENNIFER LAWRENCE.
Honorary awards that mean something I'm the world's
biggest Burt Reynolds fan, so naturally I
revere Hal Needham. He directed "Smokey and the Bandit," "Hooper," "The Cannonball Run" "and more. And he's been doing
stunt work since the 1950s. And, then there's Bob Dylan and David Bowie, so an
award for D.A. Pennebaker, documentary director of (among others) Dylan's "Don't Look Back," "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars" and "Monterey Pop," was richly deserved. But never mind my
love of these filmmakers -- they have offered so much to our popular culture and
history.
Through it all, Quentin Tarantino, class act QT gave us a
totally classy speech. Giving praise to his actors, he also served love to those
he knows well and who deserve more love: writers (he's one himself, after all).
QT said, excitedly: "This will be the writer's year."
Biggest surprise of the evening Wow! Ang Lee for winning Best Director for
his visionary "Life of Pi." Who expected that? I sure didn't. I was certain
Steven Spielberg was going to win. I think even Ang Lee was shocked. Bravo, Mr.
Lee!
Best acceptance speech of the night: Daniel Day-Lewis The
first actor to win three Best Actor Oscars, and, man, does Daniel Day-Lewis
deserve it. His speech was a mixture of humor, grace and a loving tribute to his
family. Said Lewis, "Three years ago, before we decided to do a straight swap, I
had actually been committed to play Margaret Thatcher, and Meryl was Steven's
first choice for Lincoln, and I'd like to see that version." The actor added,
"Since we got married 16 years ago, my wife Rebecca has lived with some very
strange men." I'm sure. He ended with, "For my mother." Perfect.
Twitter check-in 3 This happened a few days ago, but it
seems fitting to print. John Kerry already wished Ben Affleck well before
tonight's telecast tweeting, "Good luck @BenAffleck and #Argo at the Oscars.
Nice seeing @StateDept & our Foreign Service on the big screen."
Argo -- f--- yeah! Here's Jack! And here's Michelle
Obama. This is way better than William Shatner. We had Bill Clinton at the
Golden Globes presenting the nomination for "Lincoln," and now first lady Obama.
Is this a trend? Well, that was a lot more surprising than "Argo" winning Best
Picture.
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I'm 50/50 on Seth's performance. While I'm a HUGE fan of most of his stuff b/c of it's quick-witted, often pointless hilarity, I felt like he was trying to be too polished/careful at times.....and therefore fell a little flat. It's no secret what his sense of humor is like, so having higher expectations seems appropriate.
HOWEVER.......the whole Christopher Plumber/Von Trapp family bit was to DIE FOR! Possibly the best comical moment in the entire show. LOVED that!
All in all, I didn't hate his hosting skills, but I thought he could have played around with it a bit more.
But, my vote for next year is the Amy and Tina route. Someone needs to get a "Betty White should host SNL" petition together for those two, and make this finally happen!!!!
Halle Berry was a poor choice to present the Bond tribute if they were looking for someone connected to the franchise. However gorgeous and talented she is, her role in Die Another Day (which was a just plain BAD movie) was utterly forgettable. There wasn't someone more relevant to the series like Ursula Andress, Honor Blackman, or hell, Judy Dench available?
The "tribute" was a complete disappointment all around.
I was extremely PISSED!!!!!! after the 'In Memorium' segment. ABC manages to mangle the opportunity EVERY year....to present a well-done tribute. I've suggested to the Academy, ABC...and TCM ( several years now )....that they contract THAT portion of the show out to TCM. Go On YouTube and do a SEARCH: 'TCM Remembers ( followed by a year.....2007.....2003.....2011, etc. )
